Confirmed: Spike Lee Directs Dark Thriller ‘Oldboy’

After a three-year hiatus, Spike Lee has found his next feature directing project, committing to helm Mandate Pictures’ remake of the South Korean thriller Oldboy, as previously rumored late last week.

“The original story revolves around a man who’s kidnapped and imprisoned for 15 years. When he’s finally released and begins looking into the reason for his captivity, he soon finds out that his kidnapper has even more torturous plans for him.”

The original film, released in 2003 and directed by Chan-wook Park, won the Grand Prize Jury Award at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.

Oldboy has been a high priority at Mandate for some time, with Steven Spielberg at one point eyeing to direct and Will Smith circling to star. When Spielberg and Smith moved on, the project went under the radar as Mandate began searching for new candidates.